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ERIC Number: EJ1192652
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2018
Pages: 9
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1947-380X
EISSN: N/A
Simulated Patients Are Predominantly Used to Teach and Evaluate Athletic Training Students' Skills: A 10-Year Follow-Up
Armstrong, Kirk J.; Walker, Stacy E.; Weidner, Thomas
Athletic Training Education Journal, v13 n3 p281-289 Jul-Sep 2018
Context: Health care education needs to include methods of teaching and evaluation that are realistic and mimic patient care. Objective: To follow up on previous research regarding the methods athletic training educators use to evaluate and teach athletic training students' clinical skills during clinical experiences and in the classroom/laboratory. Design: Cross-sectional. Setting: Public and private institutions. Patients or Other Participants: Program directors of all accredited professional athletic training programs as of November 2015 (N=372) were asked to participate; a total of 90 participated. Data Collection and Analysis: The electronic survey consisted of 6 demographic questions, 6 questions regarding methods used to teach and evaluate clinical skills, and 6 items regarding barriers, educational content areas, and practice settings for real-time patient encounters. The Cronbach [alpha] determined internal consistency, [alpha]=0.784. Descriptive statistics were computed for all items. An analysis of variance and independent "t" tests analyzed differences among institutions/programs with different demographic characteristics with regard to methods, barriers, educational content areas, and settings used for teaching and evaluating skills. The [alpha] level was set at 0.05. Results: Simulated patients and real-time evaluations were the most prevalent methods of teaching and evaluating clinical skills in the classroom/laboratory and during clinical experiences, respectively. Students' lack of self-confidence (4.10 ± 0.835) was the most common barrier during clinical experiences. The clinical examination and diagnosis (4.54 ± 0.656) and acute care of injury and illness (4.39 ± 0.775) content areas ranked highest for sufficient opportunities for real-time skill evaluation. One-way analysis of variances revealed no significant differences related to institutional/program demographics regarding opportunities for or barriers to teaching and evaluating skills. Conclusions: Ten years after our previous research, athletic training students' skills are still primarily taught and evaluated via simulated patients, with a slight increase in real-time patient encounters. Professional programs should continue using simulations and consider real-time encounters to provide additional patient care experiences.
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A